Is It Harmful to Use Makeup To Cover Acne?

Makeup is generally the saving grace for anyone who has acne, acne scars or blemishes. Using a foundation gives you the confidence to feel good and look good. Makeup effectively smoothes out your skin tone making blemishes and acne scars less visible or it might even be able to hide them completely. As good as this sounds though, using makeup to cover acne might be preventing you from having clear skin. Makeup is not the cause of acne and neither does it make acne worse. But there are some times it might be bad for your skin. In this post, I’m going to tell you when it is actually harmful to use makeup to cover acne.

Let’s get one thing clear first. Makeup does not cause acne. If you have mild acne you can safely use makeup. If you have one or two pimples on your face, you can safely use makeup. However having said that, please remember that whichever it is, whether you have acne or if your skin is clear, always use good quality makeup that is not old or out of date. Skin care is not the place to be stingy.

The worst time to use makeup to cover acne is when

• you have cystic acne
• your face looks and feels irritated
• your skin is inflamed and looks red and irritated

The last thing your skin needs at this time is to be covered in makeup and here’s why.

First, as much as you think and feel, using makeup when you have cystic acne does not hide anything. Your skin will look bumpy. I know there is nothing worse than having to go out of the house with acne but unless you have hired a professional movie grade makeup artist you stand little to no chance of hiding your acne. To top it all you will be irritating your skin when applying the makeup and removing it. So lay off the makeup.

Just think of it this way, if you have a cut or wound on your leg, would you apply makeup on it? No, you wouldn’t!! You’d be careful about it and would do anything to keep it from getting infected.

Why then would you apply makeup to the delicate skin of your face when you have acne?

Yes, I think I know the answer. It’s your face and you don’t want people to see that you have acne. I understand that completely as I had severe, cystic acne at one time and I knew how much I needed to hide my face – either by staying at home and not going out or by covering my face with makeup. But I’m going to tell you a couple of things right now that you really need to listen to.

1. If you want your skin to heal you’re going to have to stop slathering on the makeup. And it’s not even that you have to use less makeup. You just have to stop using it till your skin heals. 
2. If you use makeup to cover acne, you’re going to have to use it for a very long time as your acne is not going to heal. 
3. If you use makeup to cover acne, trust me you are hiding nothing. People can still see that you have acne. So not only are you not hiding the acne, you’re preventing your skin from healing. 

I wish someone had drilled these things into my head at one time.

This makeup ban is in no way permanent. This is just till your skin heals. Then you can use all the makeup you want.

So why is it harmful to use makeup to cover acne?

Like I asked you before, would you apply body lotion on an open wound on your leg? Would you spray perfume on your arm when you have a skin infection there? The answer is no, you would not! You know that these things might irritate the wound or make the infection worse.

It is the same when you have cystic acne. Cystic acne is an infection and you should treat it with the same care as you would treat the other parts of your body. In fact, even more, as your face is one of the most important parts of you. The fact that you want to hide blemishes on it, shows how important it is to you.

There are 3 reasons why I think using makeup to cover up cystic acne is harmful.

1. Applying The Makeup

When you apply makeup on your face and you have cystic acne, no matter how careful you are, you are pulling and irritating your skin and the acne along with it. Chances are high that when actually applying the makeup you might break or irritate the acne. When this happens you’re either going to get more acne or the acne that break is going to leave scars. Breaking acne while applying makeup is on the same lines as popping pimples and you know what everyone says about popping pimples. Don’t do it!!!!

2. Taking It Off

Of course, then you’re going to have to take off the makeup. This is going to be another tiresome process for your skin. You’re going to be irritating your skin twice in one day. if you do this every day you’re going to have to deal with acne for a very long time as your acne is not going to heal.

3. The Makeup Itself

In addition to applying makeup and taking it off, there is the makeup itself. No matter how high quality and good the makeup you are using is, it still is an irritant when you have acne. If you have broken acne on your face, this makeup is going to enter the pores and infect the pimple. At the end of the day no matter how good it is and how much you paid for it, it is still a foreign body and does not belong on your face when you have acne.

I hope I have convinced you that it is harmful to use makeup to cover cystic acne. Remember that it is all for the good of your skin. You are doing this for you. I know going out without wearing makeup seems daunting but in the end, the one who benefits is you.

Most people ask me for an alternative to using makeup and I have to sadly say there is none. Your skin needs to be bare if it is going to heal. Trust me this no makeup thing is not long term. All you need is to heal your skin by changing your diet. While your skin is healing, you need to lay off the makeup. That’s all.

Your skin will calm down quickly if you follow these tips to deal with cystic acne. Also once your skin is clear you can check out this guide to using makeup when you have acne and this one to help you choose a foundation for acne prone skin.